THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO LUKE - Chapter 2 - Verse 22

Verse 22. Days {g} of her purification. Among the Hebrews a mother was required to remain at home for about forty days after the birth of a male child and about eighty for a female, and during that time she was reckoned as impure —that is, she was not permitted to go to the temple or to engage in religious services with the congregation, Le 12:3,4.

To Jerusalem. The place where the temple was, and where the ordinances of religion were celebrated.

To present him to the Lord. Every first-born male child among the Jews was regarded as holy to the Lord, Ex 13:2. By their being holy unto the Lord was meant that unto them belonged the office of priests. It was theirs to be set apart to the service of God — to offer sacrifice, and to perform the duties of religion. It is probable that at first the duties of religion devolved on the father, and that, when he became infirm or died, that duty devolved on the eldest son; and it is still manifestly proper that where the father is infirm or has deceased, the duty of conducting family worship should be performed by the eldest son. Afterward God chose the tribe of Levi in the place to serve him in the sanctuary, Nu 8:13-18. Yet still it was proper to present the child to God, and it was required that it should be done with an offering.